I suffer from OCD/ADHD and take medication to help.
My question is concerning the LOA.
As you may or may not know, OCD comes in many forms. There is one form called Pure O, where the person has a thought that is considered repugnant and unwanted which occurs often throughout the day. For instance you may feel that one of your loved ones is going to die or be in an accident.
If your thoughts create your reality, then what hope has a sufferer of OCD? One of the cognitive therapies include deliberately having the thought that is creating such misery. By creating the thought consciously you lull the brain into thinking that it is ok to have such and such a thought. But if the LOA says that what you think you attract, thoughts are bad things are they not?

I like the show the Family guy and I think the last one I watched was about Peter starting a religion around the Fonz. People we were quick to buy into it. The LOA has the same appeal--it promises to fulfill the ego's desires. So of course people have flocked to it. It's highly narcissistic and egotistical; it is limiting; it hasn't worked for even most fervent believers; it certainly has not worked for the Holocaust victims or the starving in Darfur or the decapitated Rwandans. It does not work for the starving or the ill but it does however apparently move the might of the entire universe to fulfil the petty desires of the already fortunate 1% of humanity.

It is dying out, as most fads do, but it wouldn't be surprising if it is quickly replaced by some other pseudo-spiritual ego-massager.

To know the truth about the LOA, or any other belief system, it makes sense first to become conscious.

Interestingly, people who are conscious are not much interested in the LOA.

I like the show the Family guy and I think the last one I watched was about Peter starting a religion around the Fonz. People we were quick to buy into it. The LOA has the same appeal--it promises to fulfill the ego's desires. So of course people have flocked to it. It's highly narcissistic and egotistical; it is limiting; it hasn't worked for even most fervent believers; it certainly has not worked for the Holocaust victims or the starving in Darfur or the decapitated Rwandans. It does not work for the starving or the ill but it does however apparently move the might of the entire universe to fulfil the petty desires of the already fortunate 1% of humanity.

No offense, but you don't seem particularly informed about The Secret. While I agree that the teachers were shallow and manipulative in appealing to the public's obsession with materialism, saying that the LOA never works is ignorant of all the successes people have made. Just search the web for them, they're all over. Regarding the people in pain and hunger, if you watch the video, the teachers make it clear that fighting these things only reinforces them and makes them stronger. If you love and accept your pain and hunger, and picture yourself healthy and happy, and let the universe take its course, you will be healthy and happy again. (Come to think of it, doesn't Eckhart say the exact same thing in his teachings?!) Unfortunately, the poor sufferers all over the world do not have the teachers to be taught this.

I watched The Secret the other day and thought I'd try it out for a test run, just out of pure curiosity. As a tester course, I was advised to visualise a blue feather, and so I visualised the one I wanted to see - dark blue, long and fluffy. I pretended today and yesterday that it was already mine, and I just needed to wait for it to come to me. I thought about that feather intensely for a ridiculous amount of time this morning - it was all I thought about. I looked around on the ground as I walked, hoping I would suddenly spot it. I didn't, and I knew I wouldn't deep down, so I tried to stop thinking about it. But when I went into a pub tonight and sat down, hanging above me were a dozen masks, and sticking out of each mask were six or more long, dark blue feathers. Now I don't know about anybody else, but it's not everyday I see a blue feather, let alone dozens of them at one time. I'm going to try a couple more 'tester runs' before I submit completely to the phenomena of this apparent LOA. But this example coupled with the countless others you can find online provide overwhelming evidence for its existence.

To the OP: I can't answer your question as I don't know nearly enough about OCD and the like to comment. But this certainly shocked me: "By creating the thought consciously you lull the brain into thinking that it is ok to have such and such a thought." This method is seriously used? Why on earth would they do that to someone?

Hi. Yeah a lot of what you're saying makes a lot of sense. Believe me--I've wondered about the same thing over and over again--How is it that the bad desires don't work with LOA? (Or does it?)

Not saying I agree with this concept but here it goes:

My class was having a very heated discussion about the LOA and most of us started to doubt or disagree with the LOA because no one wants bad desires or thoughts to come true. Our teacher showed us an excerpt from one of the Dalai Lama's books on construction and destruction--the negative (destructive) and postitive (constructing/building) emotions of human beings. The message was that our positive emotions are powerful and that when we want things--because we truly genuinely desire them--affects the atoms (what our universe is made up of) and the pos. atoms attract similar atoms-- like in chemistry-- "like attracts like" that's how the LOA works. In the excerpt-- Dalai Lama says that destructive emotions are not as strong. Human beings have proven to be more constructive than destructive--we strive to build, whether it's cities or societies, communities, governments, etc. (this doesn't mean there isn't a destructive and evil side of us) SO-- all in all-- LOA works because of our positive desires attracting postive atoms of the universe together and the strength/magnitude of the desire is sort of dependent on the level of pos. does that make sense?

My theory is: POSITIVE desires are usually according to what YOU want--truly--whether it's a car, a house, a cure for cancer. It's still what affects you the most and is what you want genuinely--to the deepest core. it revolves almost moslty around you're BEING--has to do with who you are.

NEGATIVE desires have to do with your MIND-- your ego--your selfishness/egocentric-ness. whether it's revenge, hatred, jealousy/envy, arrogance, you name it. ---those are all emotions or products of the ego mind, if you will. thus those aren't really desires of YOU--mostly desires of the EGO/MIND. so, for the sake of simplicity, i guess you can say those don't count because they dont apply to YOU essentially.
does that make sense? sorry if it doesn't. I'm not even sure if it makes sense

Hi there Steph H,
Yes i know exactly what you mean. I thought as much myself. I reason with God when i have a 'desire' i don't really want, that it is not really me who is asking this.
Thanks for your input though.
Godbless
Nutkins2

You dont have any power. We don't even decide which thoughts we think. They just appear innocently. Things like the LOA only prolong the illusion that you are seperate from life, that there is someone running the show. Freedom is what you are, not what you want. By wanting anything but what is the mind keeps up the illusion of seperateness. Waking up in the morning and thinking "I", "I am a body", "I have to go to work" and believing those thoughts is where your power of creation lies. Not coming across some feather and thinking you did it.

Whether the LOA is true or not is irrelevant. If it is true, it will manifest a reality which reflects inner experience. Most people's inner experience is of stuck patterns and conflicting thoughts and beliefs. Sure you can fixate on a particular point of view like the LOA and visualize positive thoughts on top of all the inner confusion, but it makes much more sense to release stuck pattern and become conscious.

Of course, if a Ferrari pops up in driveway tomorrow morning, there will be egg on my face. Come to think of it, I have been visualizing eggs a lot. Maybe I'm just hungry.

I watched The Secret the other day and thought I'd try it out for a test run, just out of pure curiosity.

greyg:
So was it really the Law of Attraction? I'm no expert on this so I can't really say much about how the LOA works but I've always thought it to work if one genuinely wanted something. A true desire for something. Hmm, it works for test runs? Do materialistic objects just appear in the physical world if we are imagining it in our heads? Hm... maybe it's a coincidence? Maybe it's not the LOA, maybe it's a whole other domain--not the physical domain but the nonlocal domain(a theory in quantum physics) . How everything that simply exists is built up of atoms. Everything is built up of atoms and everything is connected through atoms--which are also the fundamental basis of EVERYTHING in the universe. Each particle, wave is made up of atoms. Each and everything on this universe affects each other. One atom affecting another. Ultimately, there is no distance, no time. And this is how coincidences happen--the non-local domain. Something happens or is in your thoughts-- the next second you see it right infront of you.

Freedom is what you are, not what you want. By wanting anything but what is the mind keeps up the illusion of seperateness. Waking up in the morning and thinking "I", "I am a body", "I have to go to work" and believing those thoughts is where your power of creation lies.

nice, this is so good. Thoughts do just appear innocently. whenever you think of something--it's something spontaneous. One thing leading to another. Thoughts POP into your head.

Sure you can fixate on a particular point of view like the LOA and visualize positive thoughts on top of all the inner confusion, but it makes much more sense to release stuck pattern and become conscious.

agreed. If we all focused on our Being--being ONE with everything, fulfilled as a person, which means being awakened or in the PRESENT, is there a need to think about the future. Being IN the truth=being in the present. that's the only truth we REALLY know. LOA doesn't really matter much in this case. SO YUP, present is good.

I had to rush on here and tell you guys about this: yesterday I practiced the thought experiment again and envisioned a purple sheep in my mind. Today, my friend bought a new coffee mug on which was painted different coloured sheep running around the side, one of them purple. Another coincidence? LOA? I don't know, but believing either which way isn't that important. I have very few desires and none of them includes ferraris (although I wouldn't be averse to one. Karmarider, keep me posted! Haha)

You dont have any power. We don't even decide which thoughts we think. They just appear innocently. Things like the LOA only prolong the illusion that you are seperate from life, that there is someone running the show. Freedom is what you are, not what you want. By wanting anything but what is the mind keeps up the illusion of seperateness. Waking up in the morning and thinking "I", "I am a body", "I have to go to work" and believing those thoughts is where your power of creation lies. Not coming across some feather and thinking you did it.

I've tried responding to your post a couple of times now, but I've deleted each approach because I can't fathom what you're saying. In one breath, you say our thoughts hold no power and occur randomly. In the next, you say simple everyday thoughts are where our "power of creation lies". Which is it?

Sure you can fixate on a particular point of view like the LOA and visualize positive thoughts on top of all the inner confusion, but it makes much more sense to release stuck pattern and become conscious.

I've tried being conscious. I still practice as often as I can, but I find it leads to inaction. You need the idea and you need the thought in your mind to volunteer at a shelter at Christmas, or donate money anonymously. Eckhart compartmentalises ego and consciousness, but I don't see the difference between positive thought and thought coming from consciousness.

A couple more things:
Onceler, what is your experience? I'm interested.
Steph H, great post. Have you read about the Double Slit experiment in quantum physics? It's a brilliant read (or watch - they have good Youtube videos on it). I'm definitely going to look up on nonlocality more.

In one breath, you say our thoughts hold no power and occur randomly. In the next, you say simple everyday thoughts are where our "power of creation lies". Which is it?

Hey greyg.
We (as we see ourselves) don't exist, therefore what power could we have? You don't wake up in the morning and think: "Today I'm gonne think". Its too late, you are already thinking. We don't make certain thoughts appear, they just pop up by themselves. But then we attach to them and think: "I thought this or that, this was my thought".
And in believing those innocently appearing thoughts is how we create our reality. The most fundamental act of creation is believing the thought "I". And then your whole world builds upon it. "I am a body", "I have a name", "I am intelligent, sportive, have a house etc...".
And none of this thoughts is actually true in its core. As an example imagine your body has cancer. But you don't know it, so in your world cancer does not exist. Then you go to the doctor, and the doctor tells you you have cancer. Still cancer doesnt exist for you. Next the thought "I have cancer" appears and precisely when you start believing that thought you have created cancer in your reality. And thats what creating your own reality means.

Sure you can fixate on a particular point of view like the LOA and visualize positive thoughts on top of all the inner confusion, but it makes much more sense to release stuck pattern and become conscious.

I've tried being conscious. I still practice as often as I can, but I find it leads to inaction. You need the idea and you need the thought in your mind to volunteer at a shelter at Christmas, or donate money anonymously. Eckhart compartmentalises ego and consciousness, but I don't see the difference between positive thought and thought coming from consciousness.

No, you don't need ideas or thoughts to do anything or not do anything. Eckhart is one resource and if his words don't resonate, there are others. I'm going through greaterfreedom.org site and I like the simplicity of Candice O'Denver's descriptions.

If you're attracted to the LOA right now, that's what it is. I don't take a stand against it--I say that it's irrelevant. (I also say it's narcissistic and egotistical as well, but then what isn't?). I would say go back to the basics. If the LOA is true, it makes sense to be conscious of our inner experience first so we can test it out. If the LOA is not true, it makes sense to be conscious of our inner experience first.

I would suggest you don't rely on the anecdotes on the internet as evidence. I would also suggest that there is absolutely nothing in quantum physics that supports the LOA. The double-slit and non-locality experiments show that the universe is interconnected in ways that science does not understand. It doesn't show that thoughts create reality.

One general comment has been that the LOA may well "work." So do many other patterns of behavior. This one may tap into deeper 'entangled links' in the universe (thanks karmarider). But it is all about fulfilling desires, and that intimates egoic attachment. I consider it a siddhi of sorts, and as such, basically a distraction from awakening.

Just my 2 cents...

Andy

A person is not a thing or a process, but an opening through which the universe manifests. - Martin Heidegger
There is not past, no future; everything flows in an eternal present. - James Joyce

This Law of attractions sounds like a load of rubbish to me believing you own a £5,000000 house is not going to make the universe magically send one your way.

Sorry to be a kill-joy but here's my sceptical explanation for any "evidence" that it works:
Wanting to see a purple feather will likely make you more vigilant in observation which will then make you notice any purple feathers, your mind-conditioning will then make you attribute the sighting to "The law of attraction" rather than coincidence.

The mind constantly searches for patterns and its very bias towards what it wants to see. For example I wanted to prove a point by doing a random google image search to see if a purple feather appears. The first thing that came to my head was "Amazon" I was actually thinking of the website yet a purple parrot appeared ! I got all excited till I went back and saw it was actually blue

The law only works because the mind attributes simple coincidences to it in an attempt to find an explanation and its biased towards the explanation it wants to see: divine intervention, divination(Tarot,Astrology, vague prophecies), witch burnings, superstitions, they all exploit the same mind mechanic.

I agree with Sighclone believing in The Law of Attraction sounds like a dangerous road to misery as the ego will be saying "I'm not happy unless I manifest this".